Sunriver, Ore. -
The 22nd-ranked Washington men's golf team shot 7-under 281 in the first round at the 2006 NCAA Men's Golf Championship at the Crosswater Club, placing the Huskies third headed into the second round. Wake Forest leads second-place UCLA by three strokes after shooting 11-under 277.

"It's a great start for us," said Washington head coach Matt Thurmond. "When you come out in the first round of the NCAA Championship you want to feel good about it at the end of the day. We could look at our round and say, `It should have been better.' But the fact is we shot seven-under, so we're right in the hunt."

Alex Prugh turned in the Huskies' best round of the day, a 5-under 67, good for fourth place in the 156-man field. The fifth-place finisher at the Fall Preview at Crosswater, Prugh recorded six birdies and an eagle (on the par-5 12th hole) in the morning round.

"It was great round," said Thurmond. "Shooting 67 is an excellent start for him. Alex doesn't feel like he's dialed-in, locked-in on his game. He feels like he's still trying to get better. But he plays this course very well. He's comfortable here. He's going to - all of our guys are going to bring their very best right now because this is what we've been preparing for."

Defending NCAA Individual Champion James Lepp also shot in the 60s for the Huskies, carding a 3-under 69 that placed him ninth. He recorded three birdies without a bogey.

"I'm happy with his round today," Thurmond said. "He doesn't feel like he played too great, but cruising through a 69 is a good start for him."

Zach Bixler, Washington's top finisher at the West Regional (third overall), shot 2-under 70 to place 15th. It was his fourth-straight round under par.

"Just a real solid round from Zach," said Thurmond. "He actually was a little off early on, but he fought through it, still made a birdie or two. Zach's just playing really well."

The second round of the NCAA Championship starts tomorrow morning at 7:30 a.m., with Washington teeing off beginning at 12:42 p.m. Live scoring of the round is available at golfstat.com.

"We expect tougher conditions," said Thurmond of the second round. "You shouldn't really look at the scoreboard after one round at this tournament. Everybody has a morning round and an afternoon round. It doesn't really mean much until everybody's played both rounds. We're just going to prepare and be ready for inclement weather. It sounds like there might be some rain and wind tomorrow. We'll be ready for it and just go out and try to have a really good round."